The Model Worked. I Didn't Sleep.

I spent months making a five-dimensional model for mercury fission. The code ran, the numbers matched the data, and the journal called it an Editor’s Suggestion. I should have felt proud. Instead, I just felt tired. Every time the simulation failed, I thought it was me. Maybe I was the wrong variable. Maybe I was the outlier. I kept telling myself that understanding why mercury splits weirdly mattered. But after the tenth late night, when the shell effects finally lined up, all I could think about was how many hours I’d lost to a problem that only a handful of people will ever care about. I know the model is right. I just wish I knew if I am. #LabBurnout #ScienceFatigue #GradSchoolLife #Science